As you may have heard (and if you’re a regular TVOvermind reader, you couldn’t help but hear Clarissa’s shouting), Supernatural won the TV Guide cover online poll, narrowly besting my personal favorite, Chuck. My dear counterpart and I had an amusing back and forth during the voting period about the superiority of our respective favorites, and the awesomeness of the fanbases supporting those shows. It all made for good fun, but as the poll drew to a close, and our “hatred” for the opposing show grew, something dawned on me. See, I just put “hatred” in quotes because I don’t actually hate Supernatural (I cannot speak for Clarissa’s feelings towards Chuck, though at Comic-Con, I thought I saw her giving Zachary Levi the stink-eye – Clarissa: This is entirely inaccurate, I was actually admiring Captain Awesome’s awesome physique and Levi was standing in the way.), mostly because I’ve never seen an episode. To be honest, I’ve never watched an entire thirty-second commercial for the show.
I was thinking about this yesterday when I saw an Entertainment Weekly article asking what network one can’t live without. My personal answer to this question is, despite its troubles, NBC. Maybe this is because I grew up in the glory days for the network (The Cosby Show, Cheers, Friends, ER, Frasier, etc.), but for whatever reason, I always find myself giving NBC the benefit of the doubt, and hanging on with shows that I really should have ditched long ago (The Event and Outsourced, I’m looking in your direction). Most of the shows I currently enjoy watching are on the Peacock Network: Chuck, Community, The Office, 30 Rock, Parks & Recreation, Parenthood, The Biggest Loser; and I know I’ll be giving The Cape, Harry’s Law, and Perfect Couples a shot.
This isn’t to say that I don’t watch other networks (my Survivor and Modern Family articles will attest to that), because I do. But as I was considering the question asked in the EW article, I realized that TheCW wasn’t even close to being in the running — there isn’t one show I watch on that network. Even when I tried keeping up with Nikita, I was watching it on the network’s website, not live or on my DVR, and still I only saw the first three episodes before that show fell by the wayside. Why, I wondered, do I have a blind spot for TheCW?
Now, I’m sure all of you can inundate the Comments section with the awesome shows I’ve been missing (and you should!), but I wonder why they’ve never held any interest for me. At first glance, I figure that, as a 32-yr old guy, I’m not really in the network’s target demographic, but as a bit of a nerd, Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries should be up my alley for their fantasy aspects, and who can turn down Maggie Q kicking ass in a bikini? I tried thinking back to the last show I watched with any regularity on TheCW or its predecessors, The WB and UPN. I had to go allllllll the way back to Swans Crossing (Yes, that’s Sarah Michelle Gellar in the center of the picture below – Clarissa: I am somewhat ashamed to say that I also watched Swans Crossing, then followed SMG to All My Children and then to Buffy). Yeah, that show debuted eighteen years ago, and it was pretty terrible. Further, it started the network’s trend of airing soapy, not particularly good, teen dramas in which I just really wasn’t interested.
I think those formative years with TheCW and its ancestors created an association in my mind of that network with the kind of television I don’t want to watch, similar to the opposite feeling I have with NBC. Further, this bias continues to today, making me not really consider TheCW’s programming when deciding what to watch. Of course, I’m only one man, and I can’t watch everything on television, but to totally write off a network seems a bit, I don’t know, wrong somehow.
So, I ask you, is there a network that you, for some reason, just avoid altogether, despite hearing what great shows are airing on it? Have you had this type of situation in the past? Were you able to get over it, and if so, how did you it? What kinds of associations do you have with particular networks, and what formed them? Further, what blind spots do you have with writers, producers or stars? Will you never go near a J.J. Abrams show? Can you just not understand CBS’ love affair with Alex O’Laughlin? Will you automatically set up a season pass for a Joss Whedon show? Please leave your comments below, but please don’t turn this into a “That show sucks, so you suck!!” type of thread. This is a fun discussion about our television hang-ups, and not a chance to degrade someone else’s taste. I greatly look forward to your responses.
Clarissa: I’m the exact opposite of Michael. I watch far too many CW shows to the exclusion of many other networks, although I do watch shows on Fox and ABC (but I only watch one show each on CBS and NBC). I’m smack dab in the middle of TheCW’s top demographic (women 18-49). I like the cheesiness of 90210 and Gossip Girl, I love the mythology of Supernatural and The Vampire Diaries (although the hot boys are a bonus as well) and I’m very into the ass-kicking on Nikita. But most of the comedies Michael mentioned above on NBC I just don’t follow. Do you think most of this has to do with personal preference? Or are the shows we watch and the networks we follow a reflection of our age groups and gender?
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I pretty much stay away from "Big" networks (i.e NBC, CBS, and ABC) altogether.. I don't think there is anything on any of them that I'd like to watch.. I do, however watch The CW on Friday nights to catch my favorite Bro's in action. High 5 Clarissa!
Not sure if this even qualifies as an intellectual answer.. -glances at the questions posed- erm.. I'll get back to ya with my answers to the rest of them.. Btw great post!
'Can you just not understand CBS' love affair with Alex O'Laughlin?' This. ;D I have a soft spot for genre shows no matter on which network they air and I stay away from comedies because most genre shows are very funny as well.
Trust me, I put my head i my hands when O'Laughlin was cast in H50, but I think he's actually doing a pretty good job. I really enjoy the show. It's the only title sequence I don't fast forward through. Love that theme song!!
First of all, Michael, no you did NOT bring Swans Crossing into this 'debate'. Not only was that show a staple in my upbringing, but it introduced me to the love of my life: Sarah Michelle Gellar before she was Kendall on All My Children and most importantly, Buffy Summers. Just you knowing of Swan's Crossing has reserved you a Cool Spot in my eyes, pimpin.
But to the matter at hand… I just love TV, no matter what network it is on. If a network doesn't have anything to offer me, then I just keep it moving until they do. I've got favorite shows all across the board and beyond, but home base is The CW at the moment. It has been for over a decade now, due to me wanting to write for that demographic one day and me forever being a teen/nerd at heart.
It is just a certain name a Network has, when I tell people about one of my favorite shows, Supernatural, and they ask what network it airs and I reply the CW, most people are immediately like 'oh, then it will be a soapy, superficial show'. It really is a shame how many people won't even try a show because of the name a certain network has. Just as when people assume Supernatural is only about eye-candy for teenage girls.
Must be because I am not from the USA, so at first I did not know all tue connotations certain networks have, now I obviously do but I am glad I got to watch shows without any prejudices against networks.
Only show on TheCW that I used to watch was back on UPN, "Voyager".
I tend to avoid NBC and ABC. (Although I do like Outsourced and Cougar Town) I avoid those networks because they tend to cancel good shows. Leaving "Las Vegas" on a to be continued?! My Name is Earl was too expensive?!
Granted, CBS canceled "The Class", but CBS still has a better track record.
Well I am 29 (I'm not in the network's target demographic either) I just watch two Tv series and they are from a differents networks Supernatural and the Big Bang Theory, I learn to early that is dumb to choose to watch a tv serie because of the network… but I know that a lot of people are very loyal to their network and they don't watch others series even if they are reallly good…
I would never have given the CW a second glance, but fortunately while in training for a deployment, I came across Supernatural while channel surfing (I was in a new location, and had no idea what networks were on what channels, so I had to find them all). Anyway, it's a good thing I did, because I caught this preview of Supernatural. I was surprise at how good it was (was the early part of season 4) and thought I would download the pilot show from season 1 and see if it would be something I would enjoy.
Well.
1 Year, 8 months, a newly updated twitter status, a second facebook page, numerous new fansite logins, and 114 OF THE MOST AWESOME EPISODES _EVER_, T-shirts, and words such as pie, pudding, pony, and parade forever altered in my mind later…
I must say that I am a fan of the show.
I almost missed this phenomenal show, great acting and storytelling, wickedly hilarious moments, a new found appreciation for classic rock, and the most terrific fandom in the world. Almost… ;)
Dude, your credibility pretty much goes out the window when you suggest that Swan's Crossing was in any way affiliated with The CW, WB or UPN. The latter two networks didn't even EXIST until 1995, three years after Swan's syndication debut. Next you'll try to tie robot-girl, OUT OF THIS WORLD, to the network.
Suffice to say, if you have missed Felicity, Buffy, Gilmore Girls, Angel, Dawson's Creek, Charmed, Supernatural, Smallville, Popular, Everwood, Jack and Bobby….you might actually be in the wrong business, trying to write about good TV.
I have the same nostalgia for NBC the author does; but when choosing new shows to watch I don't really pay attention to the Network they're on; until I'm setting my DVR box. Otherwise it's the show premise and cast that will pull me in – it might be a show I know that's not my style, but if it's got one of "my" actors in it; I'll give it a couple of chances anyway to see if that actor can make the show grow on me…I currently have about 25 shows I watch on & off network; on tv & on station sites; depending on season (some are 'off season' shows Warehouse 13 & Eureka spring to mind first; etc)
The CW has all my favorite shows on it and The Vampire Diaries is the best show on that network.
I don't care about the Network the shows are on, I watch shows on all networks except NBC and has nothing to do with the network just that they currently are not running anything that catches my attention. I did give The Event a shot at the beginning of the season but just could not get into it. I'm really not into comedies and they seem to be heavy on that end. I did watch Chuck for awhile in it's first season but lost interest. I do watch shows on every other network though including SyFy, TLC, Food Network and ABC Family. I do watch The Vampire Diaries and Supernatural on CW but none of their other offerings. I have watched Supernatural since it's debut. My best friend is the same age and gender as I am but other than Grey's Anatomy we do not watch any of the same shows so it can't all be about gender and age demographics, I think it is more of a personal preference. My husband really likes Supernatural, he even likes Grey's Anatomy though he would probably prefer no one outside of our immediate family know that :)